illumination
by weoulfin
Summary: "I think, Aomine-kun," Kuroko glances at his friend's face. It's stained with something caught between worry and awe. Like a man teetering on the edge of a cliff and faced with the most beautiful sight he has ever laid eyes upon. "Kise-kun isn't as unattainable as the sun." - Aomine loves the sun and he loves Kise.
1. part one

"You are the only one who has understood even a whisper of me, and I will tell you that I am the only person who has understood even a whisper of you."

― Jonathan Safran Foer, _Everything is Illuminated_

* * *

I.

Once, when Aomine was twelve years old, his mother smiled at him over a cup of tea and said, "Did you know that you were born with your eyes open, Daiki?"

The boy with midnight blue hair looked up from the basketball he was trying to re-inflate and scratched at his flaking, sunburnt nose. "No," he said finally and cast a thoughtful gaze out the window. "What was I looking at?"

His mother shook her head and Aomine wondered if the expression on her face is what they called wistful. "It would have been nice if you were looking at me or your father. But you only had eyes for the sun coming through the window behind me."

Aomine had only laughed then.

"I knew it."

II.

He can't remember a time where someone hasn't mentioned to him that he looks nothing like his parents. They joke about it often and it's a running gag in the family. It's not true, of course. He has his mother eyes and his father's nose. But while both his parents aren't fair, Aomine Daiki is still several shades darker. It's a testament to his love for the sun.

Satsuki reprimands him often about it and for a few weeks she tries her best to make him wear hats and sunscreen. "You've got to be safe," she says to him every morning and jams a cap over his hair. He only responds with a derisive snort and flicks it off with his finger, much to Momoi's chagrin.

"Oi, how am I supposed to see anything with that stupid thing on my head?"

"It's not stupid," she says with a huff, but she can't hide the growing smile on her face when his head subtly follows the movement of parting clouds to reveal a ray of light.

It doesn't help that basketball means he's almost never inside. He wipes the sweat from his face with his red t-shirt and squints up at the sky. The sun will set soon, he thinks a little forlornly. Satsuki's fallen asleep on the bench under the tree beside the court and he bounces the ball idly with one hand. Daytime doesn't last forever and Aomine knows he's too old to wish it did. He tucks his basketball under his arm, crosses over to his long-time friend and shakes her awake with a surprisingly gentle hand.

They walk home together as usual and Aomine is quiet as they watch the shadows grow longer under a setting sun. Momoi wonders what exactly is going through her friend's mind.

No one finds it surprising when Aomine gets considerably moody during winter. The sun isn't out as often as he wants it to be and there are days where it's too cold to even go out and play basketball – though it's not for lack of trying. But even he supposes that there are only so many times you can play on frost covered courts without getting hurt and catching a cold.

Satsuki and his parents rotate turns in nursing him back to health. Aomine frowns deeply at his ceiling the whole time while his twisted ankle throbs dully under the covers. They give him their sympathies and assure him it won't be long until he can play again. He mutters in agreement because he's irritated but not bitter.

"I'll just make up for it," he tells Satsuki when she voices her concern. She blinks, then chuckles and shakes her head endearingly.

"Of course you will."

After all, the room is much too small and stifling to hold a light such as Aomine Daiki.


	2. part two

III.

Kuroko and Aomine hit it off almost straight away. The ghost-in-the-gym thing can't even be counted as a setback. There's nothing Aomine doesn't like about the quiet, hard-working boy. He knows that, without a doubt, they'll be friends for a long time.

IV.

If Aomine is the midnight sky, then Kuroko is the blue of a clear afternoon - starkly different but still part of the same day. So when they lie together on the school rooftop one day and Aomine tells him that the sun beating down on them is the best feeling in the world, Kuroko agrees with him wholeheartedly, with his small smile.

(That is, until they fall asleep and wake up to find Kuroko sunburnt to a crisp, bright red. Aomine only laughs loudly when Kuroko says that he changes his mind about the sun.)

V.

They walk home together often, after basketball practice. Satsuki and Aomine haven't exactly had a falling out but they're not exactly as close as they used to be. It's not preferred, but he's glad that he now has Kuroko with him. He was getting lonely watching the sun disappear behind the buildings by himself. Aomine expresses the sentiment in an off-handed manner over ice-cream. Kuroko blinks owlishly up at him, the only sign of his surprise and Aomine rolls his eyes.

"Oh come on, it's not that weird to say,"  
"It's a bit weird,"  
"Well, it's the truth," Aomine says defensively. He takes a large bite out of his popsicle and pretends the cold shock on his teeth doesn't make his eyes water a little.  
"It's not like you're afraid of the dark," Kuroko thoughtfully finishes his own popsicle with a little more grace. "So what is it about the sun, Aomine-kun?"

He doesn't even skip a beat when he answers, turning the popsicle stick in his hand, only slightly disappointed that it doesn't have the word 'winner' etched into its side. "There's nothing not to like about the sun, Tetsu. It's bright. It's warm. It makes you feel alive."

"That is very true,"

When he looks back at Kuroko, the shorter boy's head is turned towards the sun setting in the horizon and Aomine follows his gaze to the fading lights in the sky.

VI.

He and Kuroko – _Tetsu _– are almost inseparable. Someone quips that they must be a couple. Their simultaneous reactions are something along the lines of:

"No thank you."  
"What, with this – hey, what the hell do you mean 'no thank you'?!"

Later, they talk about it over ice-cream and under a sunset. Aomine tells Tetsu that he wouldn't mind dating him. Kuroko just smiles and says, "I'd like to say the same thing, Aomine-kun. But something tells me that I'm not the one for you."

"Gross, Tetsu. Is that another line from one of your dumb romance novels?"  
"I'm being serious, Aomine-kun. And please don't call my novels dumb."  
"So you do read romance novels!"  
"That's really not the point."

It really doesn't take long for the two of them to forget what started the banter and it only crosses Aomine's mind briefly again once a few days later when he wonders what exactly Tetsu was talking about.


	3. part three

VII.

When Aomine first lays eyes on Kise Ryouta, he recognises him instantly, but it's nothing special. He arrives just in time to see the runaway basketball slam into the back of a blonde head, slender hands flying up to clutch at the place of impact.

"Sorry, sorry!" he says quickly, one hand raised in apology. When the blonde turns, Aomine gives a smile of recognition. "Hey, you're that famous model, Kise-kun."

It's only due to the constant chatter about some rising-star model attending their school that he even knows the name. In fact, the only reason he figures that it's Kise Ryouta in the first place - even if hadn't seen his face before – is because the other boy is startling handsome. He figures there's no way you're not a model with a face like that. Aomine doesn't dwell on it though and Kise throws the ball back with an irritated, "What's your problem?"

He only thanks him at the time and jogs back to the gym without a second glance back. He doesn't even hear Kise follow.

VIII.

It doesn't take long for Kise to join the basketball team, and even less time for him to join them in the first string. Momoi is the one who brings him to where Aomine is and he's surprised though not disappointed. Kise seems able-bodied and if he's good enough to get into the first string, Aomine has no qualms about the blonde. They even celebrate Kise's rise to the first string together, along with Tetsu, and Murasakibara. Midorima joins them eventually and while Aomine has never been one to read people easily, he finds himself hoping that Kise's having fun all the same.

He's not sure when he stops thinking of Kise as a teammate but as a friend. He figures it must have been somewhere between the first time Kise asks for a one-on-one game with him and the day Kise is the one who is waiting for him and Tetsu at the school gates with an offer for ice-cream at the convenience store. Aomine had thrown his arm around Kise and Tetsu's shoulders then and was pleasantly surprised when the blonde simply returned the gesture with a laugh.

IX.

Kise asks him frequently from there for more one-on-one games; after practice, during practice – whenever either of them are free. Aomine, sweat-drenched from the sun and rigorous training can't find it in him to say no.

Aomine knows about Kise. He's seen what he can do, and he knows that every other sport that Kise has touched bore him something terrible. "They're no challenge," Kise had told him. Aomine punched him in the arm, telling him to get a hold of his ego and Kise had whined, bumping hard into his side in retaliation. They walked home that way together, tripping each other over, half-heartedly shoving Kise in front of a pole and jabbing a sharp elbow into Aomine's side. Their laughter was loud, drawing attention from passer-bys. Kuroko had disappeared along the way to buy a new novel, and Aomine didn't even notice the sun beginning to set.

X.

The three of them – Kuroko, Kise and Aomine - make a point of going home together whenever they can. It's not as often as they'd like; Tetsu sometimes heading home later, Kise heading home earlier for a photo shoot. Aomine doesn't mind much anymore because he's not ever left alone.

XI.

The sky is a dreamy orange the day Kise stops by the basketball courts on the way home. Kuroko had stayed back for extra practice but convinced Aomine to walk Kise to his modelling gig when the blonde said his goodbyes.

"Kise-kun has been walking home alone too often," was Tetsu's excuse and shooed the two of them out of the gym despite both their protests.

Aomine slows his steps to look back over his shoulder where the boy with golden eyes is scrutinizing the court and the setting sun. His expression is unreadable.

"What are you doing, Kise?"

"Aomine-cchi, let's have a one-on-one,"

"You're going to be late,"

"It'll be fine. C'mon, Aomine-cchi, just a quick game," Aomine turns fully then and Kise is already unshouldering his bag and tossing it to the side.

(The darker boy sighs, but Kise can see the grin growing on his face. He smiles back and ignores the sharp flutter of his heart.)

The game lasts much longer than either of them were expecting. Aomine is crowned winner, of course but it doesn't change the fact that both boys are worn out. They lie under the hoop side-by-side, staring up at the sky. It's turned a soupy-red during their game and Aomine listens to Kise's erratic breathing finally slow. He fights the urge to turn his head around, to look at the sculpted profile blessed with both boyish and effeminate charm. They stay there for a long while, inhaling each other's company in silence. Aomine imagines the sound of his friend's heartbeat.

When Kise finally pulls himself up to look at the time on his phone, he's already fifteen minutes late. He gives a loud cry of despair and shoots to his feet. Aomine laughs when he sprints to his bag, hollering apologies over his shoulder.

"Bye, Aomine-cchi!" Kise yells waving franticly as he takes off. "Thanks for the game, I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Yeah," Aomine calls back. He climbs to his feet and watches the boy dashing into the distance. "See 'ya."

XII.

Aomine recalls the game that night, his surprise and awe. Kise was becoming much faster, much tougher to play against. His copy-cat style wasn't one to be treated lightly. He tosses the basketball against the ceiling and catches it absentmindedly, his back propped up against some pillows on his bed. Kise would one day be a force to be reckoned with.


End file.
